2015 YUKON NOISE IN CABIN

cltsig · December 18, 2015

I'm still not convinced that there re any units out there that don't exhibit the buffeting. I've driven at least 6 different rental units while mine was at the dealer, and very one of them buffeting. Some more than others, but they all did it. Personally, I believe all the units do it to some degree, but every person has a different sensitivity to it and a different threshold to when it becomes and annoyance, and hence a "problem". That's why the majority of the units are supposedly "OK". Those of us that notice it, and then (unfortunately for us) lock in to it, are kind of screwed.

How many reports have we had of someone actually getting their unit completely solved? Virtually none. And I would bet those same people driving in the majority of the units would perceive some amount of buffeting, whilst the owner completely didn't notice it. And, we've heard a few reports of people pointing it out to someone, who then became a "believer"! Lol.

As for why some units seem OK at first and then develop the issue, I am pretty sure that is tires. The reality is that as tires wear and get use, they probably do develop more Roadforce. In the old days, this was not noticed because the vehicle simply didn't transmit every little bump to the passenger. But this new SUV does transmit every little bump to the cabin. Drive 5 mph over some gravel and you swear you can feel every little rock! So, that super-sensitive chassis and body cannot tolerate any amount of unbalance or shaking forces put into it without transmitting it to the passengers, and setting off the buffeting. Trying to chase all the input forces is a list cause...GM needs to address the response, and isolate it from the source. Until they do that, ALL these vehicle are going to be a problem.

Do not kid yourself....there are no "good" ones out there, in my opinion and experience. It is a design flaw and that's that.

I thought that as well. I drove about 4 Tahoes and 3 Yukons, all with issue to some degree. The very first 2016 Yukon SLT 22" 4wd I drove had it the worst, driving me to google and this site. After driving a few Tahoes and all having it to varying degrees, my wife and I agreed we are not messing with this brand. However, one Tahoe only had it mildly and it was on 20's. We found a 2016 Yukon Denali on 20's, 2wd, optioned with the colors and options we wanted (more specifically, didn't want). We drove it and although the suspension was "tight" and had some booms, it had no vibrations or buffeting. We ended up getting it (one week ago today) and if anything it has gotten quieter. 450 miles right now. My wife mentions how quiet it is, more so than our 2015 Infiniti Q70L with the noise reduction Bose system.

My opinion is there is some design flaw or variance that allows the minor vibration turn into major buffeting. If your truck doesn't have that manufacturing flaw/variance/what have you, you won't have issues. We also noticed trucks with 2wd and 20's had the least issues.

FogDucker · December 18, 2015

My opinion is there is some design flaw or variance that allows the minor vibration turn into major buffeting. If your truck doesn't have that manufacturing flaw/variance/what have you, you won't have issues. We also noticed trucks with 2wd and 20's had the least issues.

Or, all are sensitive to vibrations but only some have vibrations. I'd love to have a trained engineer do a thorough side-by-side comparison of a quiet one versus a buffeting one.

boazEarl8 · December 18, 2015

Remember there was a member who noticed that the issues were felt from only the drivers seat so Jason, if he was a passenger, wouldn't have noticed the issues even though he's definitely skilled enough to know what to feel for

Matt Flynn · December 19, 2015

I have a 2wd '15 Yukon, and since the dealer put new tires on my factory 20" wheels, my issues have disappeared. I want to put 24" wheels on it this weekend, however i'm a bit hesitant until i'm confident the truck wont develop vibrations/buffeting.

I only have 300 miles on the truck right now...If the truck was going to exhibit the vibration/buffeting issues, would they be present now, or is there a chance they'll still develop?

Wrench589 · December 19, 2015

Interesting that the 2wd's seem better. I must admit all the units I drove were 4wd. I also notice that there is a distinct increase in the vibration felt in the steering wheel when in 4wd Auto compared to 2wd drive, even though the 4wd should not be engaged (dry road). So does make one think drive-line.

That said, if I understood you, your 2wd still started out with buffeting, it just went away with new tires. Hmmmm.

FogDucker · December 19, 2015

Remember there was a member who noticed that the issues were felt from only the drivers seat so Jason, if he was a passenger, wouldn't have noticed the issues even though he's definitely skilled enough to know what to feel for

Yes, I've observed that too. Worst in drivers seat, better in passenger and hard to hear in 2nd or 3rd row.

I have a 2wd '15 Yukon, and since the dealer put new tires on my factory 20" wheels, my issues have disappeared. I want to put 24" wheels on it this weekend, however i'm a bit hesitant until i'm confident the truck wont develop vibrations/buffeting.

I only have 300 miles on the truck right now...If the truck was going to exhibit the vibration/buffeting issues, would they be present now, or is there a chance they'll still develop?

Difficult to say, but I'd say that all have the potential for the boom. My Yukon has standard 20" wheels and has boomed/buffeted from day 1.

The 2015 Suburban LT rental I'm in right now has 22" wheels and sounds no worse than my Yukon. I'd say that the buffeting is very slightly milder. Who knows, it could even be related to the alignment of the wheel when it's mounted as per the vibrating pickup truck thread. [hub centric, studs off center...]

It's all speculation at this point - no single thing has produced consistent results.

Wrench589 · December 19, 2015

In my opinion the buffeting helicopter sound is just rapid body booming. The trucks that appear to have the "buffeting" more than others have additional forces (tires, rear end, road conditions, etc.) exciting the sheet metal. I have no vibrations at any speeds (20" wheels) and absolutely have lots of body booming and some buffeting. All of these trucks exhibit body booming to some extent. Purely a design flaw with the chassis, suspension, body/frame mounts...something.

I've had my Tahoe on a few 4 hour road trips. Wife and kids don't notice anything. I can hear and feel it, but it doesn't give me headaches or nausea. It's just a major annoyance to me, I think most are like the Escalade owner and don't notice it or think anything of it.

Totally agree that the buffeting is a series of booms. Totally agree.

Now, also see that for some reason, that vehicle is extremely easy to cause it to boom. I consistently hear booming when I open and close the rear doors. The detents in the mechanism that holds the door open is enough to set of a boom! So, imagine what driving down the road can do! I have spend some time trying isolate exactly what seems to be resonating when I swing the door but cants say for sure. Certainly, the door skin itself seems to be vibrating slightly, but not sure that's it.

The other thing I noticed is that the rear quarter panel above the wheelwell and back seems to be extremely flimsy and does a bit of a dance when I swing the door. I plan to do some more investigating over the Xmas break to see if I can isolate something. If it is the rear quarter panels, that might not be too difficult to stiffen from the inside, with some Dynamat and possibly even a strut or two.

Zig10 · December 19, 2015

Well, I picked up my 2016 replacement Yukon XL today, and after putting about 30 miles on it, thus far it is like driving a completely different vehicle. There is still an occasional boom across messed up pavement, and I still wish the V4 mode sounded better, but no ear pressure to speak of.

Keeping my fingers crossed. We'll be racking up miles over the Christmas season, so I hope to be able to give a positive report when we return.

Edited December 19, 2015 by Zig10

Elripster · December 19, 2015

I am going to disagree that buffeting is a series of booms. The frequency of booming is much higher and well into the audible range. The buffeting is more like 20-30Hz which is below the audible range where you feel it in your ears more than hear it. You can have both at the same time or in my vehicle one or the other by itself. Buffeting feels at least to me like a change in air pressure while the booming is like being inside a large kettle drum or similar.

Frank

Edited December 19, 2015 by Elripster

Matt Flynn · December 19, 2015

Here is my before/after vibration test. Before was how the truck came from the dealer, after is with the new tires.

Edited December 19, 2015 by flynnstone

Wrench589 · December 19, 2015

Here is my before/after vibration test. Before was how the truck came from the dealer, after is with the new tires.

Is this an app on your phone? Which one?

Elripster · December 19, 2015

Wow, that reduced magnitude by a factor of 2 with an even larger reduction in X. I too am interested in what you used to measure this.

Frank

ajs800 · December 19, 2015

I have a 2wd '15 Yukon, and since the dealer put new tires on my factory 20" wheels, my issues have disappeared. I want to put 24" wheels on it this weekend, however i'm a bit hesitant until i'm confident the truck wont develop vibrations/buffeting.

I only have 300 miles on the truck right now...If the truck was going to exhibit the vibration/buffeting issues, would they be present now, or is there a chance they'll still develop?

You are about the 4th case now that I've read where new tires and extra attention to balancing actually greatly reduced the buffeting/pressure. Very interesting. Honestly, I wouldn't even considering adding the 24s, however, it would be interesting to see your data numbers after the swap.

Edited December 19, 2015 by ajs800

Matt Flynn · December 19, 2015

Is this an app on your phone? Which one?

The app is called Vibsensor, is on my iPhone and can be downloaded from the App Store ($5 for full version). It records all sorts of data for one minute at a time. The data I posted was taken at 70 mph on the same stretch of road before and after tires.

Edited December 19, 2015 by flynnstone

carz24 · December 19, 2015

I'm in the middle of my first buy back on a 2015i Yukon XL Denali and have driven 3 2016 XL Denali's and they all vibrate and buffet. The dealer told me that he sees varying amounts of the booming and vibration in different Yukons. I've given up hope of finding one that doesn't do it but don't feel like I have any other options currently. I need a big SUV for a few more years and then I can get rid of it. I used to be a big GM fan and owned all GM vehicles but because of this and the way GM is treating me, I'm in the middle of getting rid of all my GM vehicles (save a few classics). And trying some different brands. I even test drove a Navigator (gasp, Ford was always my mortal enemy:)

Getting back to the Yukon, I believe, (just a hunch) that going to very light gauge high strength steel on such a big box of a vehicle and stiff frames and shocks have surprised GM with some of these unexpected problems. They will never be able to totally eliminate all vibration and road disturbances with the current technology. So I fear we are stuck with this until they start going after the body structure.

Just curious how others are being treated on buy backs?

Are you paying for the miles you put on? If so, now much per mile?

Are you having to pay the increase of MSRP price on the 2016 even though it's the exact same optioned vehicle as the 2015i? The MSRP increased for 2016 by about $2000.

Please give me your feedback.